Chelsea vs Manchester United: 3 players that will be important for Chelsea

Chelsea will come up against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in Monday night's Premier League fixture. It will be a game that will surely excite, as it is often the case when these two sides meet.

The last time Chelsea and United met was in the EFL Cup back in October. It was in this match that Marcus Rashford stole the show, scoring two goals including a penalty to beat their rivals.

Manchester United will take great confidence from their Premier League meeting at the start of the season too, where they won by an impressive scoreline of 4 goals to nil.

But this time, the Blues will have the home advantage and Frank Lampard is out to seek revenge against the team he created a rivalry with as a player. Both sides are struggling for form, but Chelsea are looking like slight favourites in this match.

With that being said, here are the three Chelsea players that must be on top of their game if the Blues are to pick up all three points at home this Monday night.

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#1 Willian

Willian has been one of Chelsea's best players this season but he'll want to add to his tally.

Manchester United fans know all about what Willian brings to the table, as he has been linked with a move to Old Trafford on numerous occasions in the past. Yet, he remains a Chelsea player and so far this season, he has put up a good display.

Willian will be important to Chelsea in this match as he looks to stretch the United defence. He is likely to come up against the talented Aaron Wan-Bissaka, so his ability on the ball will be tested - especially since the United full-back is known to be a good tackler of the ball.

Willian has scored four Premier League goals and provided the same number of assists this season. He will be hoping to start adding to his tally now that we are in the second half of the season, and a match against Manchester United may be the best time to do so.

Willian will be lively on the ball as he always is, but what will be important is whether he has the end product. That has been his downfall at times in the past but given his recent form, he will likely come up with the goods against Manchester United.

#2 Tammy Abraham

Abraham has been Chelsea's breakout star of the season.

Tammy Abraham was bound to get a mention on this list as he has been scoring goals for fun this season. The 22-year-old has scored 13 Premier League goals this season but he is going through a little dry patch by his standards.

Having not scored in the last three games, he will be eager to score against Manchester United.

The main critique fans have of Abraham is that he is not able to score against the big teams. But having scored against Arsenal, he will be eager to add to his big-game tally when the Red Devils come visiting.

What I like the most about Abraham is his ability to get into the right places at the right time. With the creativity of Jorginho and probably Callum Hudson-Odoi out wide, Abraham can rest assured that if he is in the right position, the service will be provided to him. It's all about him finishing his dinner then.

He will come up against Harry Maguire who is no pushover, but Abraham will hope that his athleticism will win him that battle.

#3 Cesar Azpilicueta

The captain's armband is in the right place.

One of the most important players in any match for Chelsea is Cesar Azpilicueta, and this one will be no different. The Spaniard has started in an impressive 23 league matches this season so I'm fully expecting him to start this match.

Azpilicueta is important to Chelsea for his leadership qualities at the back. He is a real team player and if he sees anyone out of position, he is the first to jump in and drag them where they should be. Not literally though.

Jokes aside, the Spanish full-back is a brute defender as well as a prepared attacker. He really does provide the best of both worlds. That said, this game will probably call for him to be more disciplined in the defensive third as United like to play on the counter-attack and attack from wide positions.

Either way, Azpilicueta will be the first name on the team sheet and if he is on top of his game, then that will likely transcend to the rest of his teammates too.